Watch the 1996 documentary – Universal Techno

In a first for Darkfloor we’re posting up an old documentary, this might turn into a thing, we’ll see. Shouts going out to the Back to Bionic guys for the heads up.

So we’ve one hour of video rammed with a bunch of who’s who of techno in 1996. Many of these guys are still pushing their thing some 16 years later. Some are still doing the same shit, doing it well but not really moving things all that forward. Others, have evolved and developed as artists. Most of these guys are now the fathers (and grandfathers) of the die-hard nightclub weekend activity for millions: techno.

Gems within include a topless Blake Baxter (if that’s your thing); Tangerine Dream performing live in Paris in ’75, and some classic Kraftwerk footage. There’s also footage of fabled record store Hardwax from back in the day with Baxter going through a ‘new’ Juan Atkins release. Derrick May and Atkins showing us the run down urban degenerate Detroit interspersed with footage of them spinning some black discs. Remember those? Some of you must surely.

Who’d have thought Mark Bell (LFO) was breakdancing at age 12 or that his first release on Warp shifted some 125,000 copies. There’s live footage of Ken Ishii and live footage of Autechre in Barcelona (I’m guessing at Sonar), and Mad Mike and and and. Just watch the damn thing.

The film chronicles the birth of the techno scene from its 1980s beginnings into the behemoth it became in the 90s.

It’s interesting in how the producers who are given the screen time touch on how the ‘old’ techno came to be and where it is now (then). There’s the now familiar story of the Belleville Three and the Detroit thing (yea I know once again missing out the Belgium side of events). There’s also their concerns about how the music has changed from its origins and some of their roads into it. Producers comparing how things were back then to now. Funny how things repeat cyclically isn’t it. Retrospective sure, some parts are still relevant today in 2012.